Commodity registration device with wireless tag reader and optical reading unit

ABSTRACT

According to one embodiment, a commodity registration device includes an optical reading unit with a reading range. The optical reading unit is configured to read a code symbol on a commodity in the reading range. A wireless tag reading unit is configured to read a commodity code from a wireless tag of the commodity in the reading range. A processor determines whether the commodity is in the reading range of the optical reading unit and causes a notification unit to indicate the commodity has been registered if the wireless tag reading unit successfully reads the commodity code from the wireless tag while the commodity is determined to be in the reading range of the optical reading unit.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2020-047276, filed on Mar. 18, 2020, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to a commodityregistration device and a control program for a commodity registrationdevice.

BACKGROUND

A commodity registration device including both an optical reading unitfor reading a printed code symbol, such as a barcode or atwo-dimensional code, on an item and a wireless tag reading unit forreading information from a wireless tag, such as a radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tag, is known.

In such the commodity registration device, when a code symbol or awireless tag attached to an item is successfully read, typically anotification sound is emitted to report the successful reading of thecode symbol or the wireless tag. However, the timing for thenotification sound emission may differ between a case where a codesymbol has been read and a case where a wireless tag has been readbecause the reading area or range can be different for the opticalreading unit and the wireless tag reading unit.

For example, before a user even brings a commodity close to a readingwindow of the optical reading unit, the wireless tag reading unit mayhave already successfully read the wireless tag attached to thecommodity, and thus the notification sound may be generated while theuser is still attempting to position the commodity before the readingwindow. As a consequence, the user may be confused by a difference insound emission timing between the case where the code symbol attached tothe commodity is successfully read by holding the commodity in front ofthe reading window of the optical reading unit and the case where thewireless tag is read by the wireless tag reading unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a configuration of a POS terminal according to anembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting aspects of a hardware configurationof a POS terminal according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting certain functional aspects of a POSterminal according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of process of a POS terminal according to anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In general, according to one embodiment a commodity registration deviceincludes an optical reading unit and a wireless tag reading unit. Theoptical reading unit has a reading range and is configured to read acode symbol on a commodity in the reading range. The wireless tagreading unit is configured to read a commodity code from a wireless tagof the commodity in the reading range of the optical reading unit. Aprocessor is configured to determine whether the commodity is in thereading range of the optical reading unit and cause a notification unitto indicate the commodity has been registered if the wireless tagreading unit successfully reads the commodity code from the wireless tagwhile the commodity is determined to be in the reading range of theoptical reading unit.

Hereinafter, certain embodiments of a commodity registration device anda program executed by a commodity registration device will be describedwith reference to the drawings. In the present disclosure a point ofsale (POS) terminal will be described as one example of a commodityregistration device. The present disclosure is not limited to theparticular example embodiments.

Configuration of a POS Terminal According to an Embodiment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example configuration of a POS terminal 1according to an embodiment. POS terminal 1 includes a main body 2, amonitor 3, an operation panel 4, a scanner 5, an RFID reader 7, anantenna 8, and the like.

The main body 2 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped(a box-like) shape, and is mounted, standing, or placed on a sackertable S. The height of the main body 2 above the sacker table S ispreferably about eye-level for a user of the sacker table S. In thiscontext, the sacker table S is a table or counter-like structure onwhich a shopping basket or the like containing commodities beingpurchased can be placed during the registration and bagging process(es).

The main body 2 has a reading window 51. The reading window 51 serves asan opening in the main body 2 through which light and/or radio waves maypass. A scanner 5, an RFID reader 7, and an antenna 8 are installedproximate to the reading window 51. The user holds a commodity C infront of the reading window 51 to read (image) the commodity.Furthermore, the main body 2 includes a speaker 6 (see FIG. 2) foremitting a notification sound or the like.

The monitor 3 is one example of a display unit. The monitor 3 isprovided above the reading window 51. The monitor 3 can be a displayunit with an integrated touch panel such as an LCD (liquid crystaldisplay) device or the like. During sales registration processing at thePOS terminal 1, the monitor 3 displays information such as a commodityname, a price, and the like of a commodity being registered for purchaseby a user.

In this example, the operation panel 4 is provided adjacent to a sideportion of the monitor 3. The operation panel 4 includes buttons and/orkeys for performing various operations. Although FIG. 1 shows an examplein which the monitor 3 and the operation panel 4 appear separatelyprovided, the monitor 3 and the operation panel 4 may instead beintegrally provided with each other.

The scanner 5 reads a code symbol attached to a commodity. In thepresent embodiment, the scanner 5 includes an imaging element, such as aCCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary MOS), and animaging lens. The imaging lens forms an image of an imaging area on theimaging element. Here, an imaging area refers to the area/region fromwhich an image of a commodity (more particularly, in this example, thecode symbol on the commodity) can be acquired by the imaging elementthrough the reading window 51 and the imaging lens.

The scanner 5 images items outside the main body 2 via the readingwindow 51. For example, the scanner 5 captures an optical image of abarcode, a two-dimensional code, or the like printed on a package or thelike of a commodity C. The scanner 5 is an example of an optical readingunit, and the barcode, the two-dimensional code are examples of a codesymbol that can be read by the scanner 5.

Here, it is assumed that a barcode, a two-dimensional code, or the likeis printed on the packaging of the commodity C and encodes data such asa product identifier (commodity code), and a price of the commodity maybe determined from the encoded data.

According to the present embodiment, the POS terminal 1 can detect thatthe commodity C is in the commodity reading area of the scanner 5(scanner reading area) based on an image captured by the scanner 5. Acommodity detection unit 123 can be provided to determine from the imagewhether the commodity C is in the scanner reading area.

In this context, the scanner reading area refers to the area or regionwithin which an optical reading unit, such as scanner 5, can read a codesymbol that is attached to the commodity. In the present embodiment, thescanner reading area is an area or region in which the scanner 5 canread a barcode, a two-dimensional code, or the like.

The RFID reader 7 reads a wireless tag attached to a commodity.

In the present embodiment, the RFID reader 7 reads information stored inan RFID tag by causing the antenna 8 to radiate radio waves. The RFIDreader 7 is an example of a wireless tag reading unit, and an RFID tagis an example of a wireless tag, which may also be called a radio tag.

The antenna 8 is disposed proximate to the reading window 51 andradiates radio waves. In the present embodiment, the antenna 8 radiatesradio waves outward from the front of the POS terminal 1 (that is, inthe negative y-axis direction in FIG. 1). There is thus a radio wavecommunication range in front of the POS terminal 1 within whichcommunication with an RFID tag is possible and beyond whichcommunication with the is not possible or at least unreliable.

The reading window 51 is a material that allows radio waves to passthrough it. The rear (positive Y-axis direction) facing surface of themain body 2, which is the surface on the side of the main body 2opposite from the side of the main body 2 in which the reading window 51is provided, is a material that blocks (or reflects) radio waves.Accordingly, since only an RFID tag attached to the commodity in frontof the POS terminal 1 can be read by the RFID reader 7, it is possibleto prevent an RFID tag attached to a commodity on the rear surface sideof the main body 2 from being erroneously read by the RFID reader 7.

In the present embodiment, the RFID reader 7 and the antenna 8 areinstalled proximate to the reading window 51, but the installationlocation of the RFID reader 7 and the antenna 8 is not limited thereto.For example, the RFID reader 7 and the antenna 8 may be installed belowthe sacker table S.

In the present embodiment, the user can read a barcode, atwo-dimensional code, or the like attached to a commodity by holding thecommodity over the reading window 51. Therefore, it can be said that thereading window 51 exists in a region where the scanner 5 can read abarcode, a two-dimensional code, or the like. Proximate to the readingwindow 51, the scanner 5 and also the RFID reader 7 and the antenna 8are provided.

That is, in the present embodiment, the reading area (tag communicationrange) of RFID reader 7 and the antenna 8 overlap the reading area(scanner reading area) of the scanner 5.

Next, an operation of a user such as a customer or an operator who usesthe POS terminal 1 will be described. In the following description, itis assumed that either that both a code symbol (a bar code, atwo-dimensional code, or the like) and an RFID tag are attached to eachcommodity C or that only an RFID tag is attached to each commodity C.First, the user takes the commodity C from a shopping basket a. In thiscontext, shopping basket a is the location in which each commodity C isplaced before the commodity registration process begins. After acommodity C is removed from shopping basket a, the user next passes thecommodity C in front of the reading window 51.

When the POS terminal 1 reads only the barcode, the two-dimensionalcode, or the like out of the barcode, the two-dimensional code, or thelike, and the RFID tag attached to the commodity C, the POS terminal 1generates a notification sound indicating that the barcode, thetwo-dimensional code, or the like has been read to be emitted from thespeaker 6, and performs a commodity registration process. Afterconfirming the sound, the user puts the commodity C into a shoppingbasket b into which the commodity C after the commodity registrationprocess is put.

When the POS terminal 1 reads an RFID tag and also detects that thecommodity C is in the scanner reading area from the image captured bythe scanner 5, the POS terminal 1 emits a notification sound from thespeaker 6 indicating that the RFID tag has been successfully read andthen performs a commodity registration process. When the code symbol andthe RFID tag are both read, the reading result from the RFID tag isprioritized. After confirming the successful registration sound, theuser then puts the commodity C into the shopping basket b. In thisexample, the shopping basket b is the place in which the commodity C isput after the commodity registration process on the commodity C issuccessfully completed.

When the POS terminal 1 fails in the commodity registration attempt, thePOS terminal 1 emits a sound from the speaker for notifying an error. Inthis case, the user is expected not to move the commodity C into theshopping basket b and attempt to perform the commodity registrationprocess again while taking measures to make the subsequent registrationattempt successful.

Although an example of a configuration of the POS terminal 1 has beendescribed above, the configuration of the POS terminal 1 is not limitedthereto. For example, in addition to the above-described configuration,a hand scanner (hand-held type scanner) or the like for reading codesymbol attached to a large commodity that might be difficult to hold infront of the reading window 51 may be provided.

(Hardware Configuration of POS Terminal)

Next, a hardware configuration of the POS terminal 1 will be described.FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configurationof the POS terminal 1 according to the embodiment.

The POS terminal 1 includes a control unit 10 (also referred to as acontroller), a storage unit 11, and an input/output controller 13.

The control unit 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101, a ROM(Read Only Memory) 102, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 103. The CPU101 is connected to the ROM 102 and the RAM 103 via a bus line 12 or thelike.

In the control unit 10, various programs that may be stored in the ROM102 or the storage unit 11, are loaded into RAM 103 and executed by CPU101. Thus, in general, CPU 101 controls functions of the POS terminal 1by operating in accordance with the various programs loaded in the RAM103. That is, the control unit 10 in this example has a configurationcorresponding to that of a general computer executing particularsoftware providing various operating functions of POS terminal 1.

The control unit 10 is connected to the storage unit 11 and theinput/output controller 13 via a bus line 12.

The storage unit 11 is, in this example, a non-volatile memory, such asa flash memory, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), or the like that retainsstored information even when the power is turned off. The storage unit11 stores a control program. In this context, a control program is aprogram for providing the described functions of the POS terminal 1according to the present embodiment. In this example, the storage unit11 stores a commodity master 111, a notification sound file 112, and thelike.

The input/output controller 13 is connected to components such as themonitor 3, the operation panel 4, the scanner 5, the speaker 6, the RFIDreader 7, and the antenna 8. The input/output controller 13 operates tocontrol various types of connected hardware based on commands generatedby the control unit 10.

In this example, the monitor 3 displays various information related tooperations of the POS terminal 1 and commodity information related toproducts being registered by the POS terminal 1.

The operation panel 4 detects user input operations, such as theselection (touching or otherwise) of various buttons of the operationpanel 4 and the like. The operation panel 4 then transmits informationcorresponding to the user input operations to the control unit 10.Instead of a separate operation panel 4, a touch panel may be integratedwith the monitor 3, which may then display various user-selectablebuttons and the like during operations of the POS terminal 1.

The scanner 5 is as described above. The speaker 6 can be used to emit anotification sound to perform a notification of a user or the like. Thespeaker 6 is an example of a notification unit in this context.

The RFID reader 7 causes the antenna 8 to radiate radio waves (e.g.,emit tag interrogation signals and the like). The RFID reader 7 acquirestag information from a RFID tag that provides a response signal receivedby the antenna 8. The RFID reader 7 outputs the received tag information(or information corresponding thereto) to the control unit 10 via theinput/output controller 13.

(Functional Aspects of POS Terminal)

Next, certain functional aspects of the POS terminal 1 will bedescribed. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of afunctional aspects of the POS terminal 1 according to the embodiment.

The POS terminal 1 includes, as functional units, components, ormodules, an image acquisition unit 121, a decoding unit 122, a commoditydetection unit 123, an information acquisition unit 124, a commodityregistration unit 125, a notification control unit 126, a displaycontrol unit 127, and a selection unit 128.

A part or all of these functional units may be implemented by a softwarealgorithm executed by of a processor (e.g., CPU 101) based on one ormore various programs (for example, a control program) stored in, forexample, ROM 102 and/or storage unit 11. A part or all of thesedescribed functional units may be implemented as a hardware circuitrather than in software. That is, one or more functional units maycorrespond to a dedicated hardware circuit, an electronic component, orthe like.

The image acquisition unit 121 acquires an image that tis captured bythe scanner 5. Specifically, when a transaction start is instructed by auser from the operation panel 4, the image acquisition unit 121 beginsacquiring, via the input/output controller 13, image data (images)captured by the scanner 5.

When the end of the transaction is instructed via the operation panel 4or otherwise, the image acquisition unit 121 stops acquiring the imagedata from the scanner 5.

The decoding unit 122 extracts information from an image regioncorresponding to a code symbol (e.g., a barcode, a two-dimensional code,or the like) in the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit121. The decoding unit 122 thus executes a process for decoding codesymbol to provide, for example, a commodity code encoded in a barcode orthe like.

The commodity detection unit 123 detects that a commodity is in thescanner reading area, which is the area where the optical reading unitcan read a code symbol on the commodity.

In the present embodiment, the commodity detection unit 123 detectswhether a commodity is in the scanner commodity reading area based on animage acquired by the image acquisition unit 121. When a commodity isdetermined to be present in the image acquired by the image acquisitionunit 121, it is determined that a commodity is in the scanner readingarea.

In the present embodiment, the commodity detection unit 123 detects thata commodity is in the scanner reading area based on the image acquiredby the image acquisition unit 121. However, in other examples, thecommodity detection unit 123 may detect that a commodity is in thescanner reading area based on a detection result from an infrared sensoror other sensor separately provided in the main body 2.

The information acquisition unit 124 acquires commodity informationbased on a commodity code or the like provided by the decoding unit 112after the reading of a code symbol by the scanner 5. The informationacquisition unit 124 acquires a commodity code either from the decodedinformation from the decoding unit 122 or as read or otherwise providedby the RFID reader 7 reading an RFID tag of the commodity. Specifically,if the decoding unit 122 has succeeded in its decoding process and theRFID reader 7 has not read an RFID tag, the information acquisition unit124 acquires decoded information from the decoding unit 122, thenacquires the commodity information to the decoded information.

On the other hand, if the RFID reader 7 has succeeded in readinginformation from an RFID tag, the decoding unit 122 acquires theinformation read from the RFID tag if the commodity detection unit 123also detects that a commodity is present in the scanner reading areaeven when the code symbol decoding process has already succeeded. Thatis, the commodity code read from the RFID tag (by the RFID reader 7) isused with priority over the code symbol information decoded by thedecoding unit 122.

The commodity registration unit 125 performs a commodity registrationprocess. In the present embodiment, the commodity registration unit 125checks the commodity master 111 to determine whether commodityinformation corresponding to the commodity code information that hasbeen acquired by the information acquisition unit 124 exists in thecommodity master 111. The commodity registration unit 125 performs acommodity registration process if the commodity informationcorresponding to the acquired commodity code is in the commodity master111. The commodity registration unit 125 is an example of a registrationunit.

When the optical reading unit (e.g., scanner 5) reads a code symbolattached to a commodity, the notification control unit 126 controls thenotification unit to generate a notification sound indicating a codesymbol has been read by the optical reading unit.

When the wireless tag reading unit reads a wireless tag attached to acommodity and the commodity detection unit 123 also detects that thecommodity is present in the scanner reading area, the notificationcontrol unit 126 also controls the notification unit to generate anotification sound.

In the present embodiment, the notification control unit 126 performscontrol such that the speaker 6 emits a successful registrationnotification sound based on the information encoded in the barcode, thetwo dimensional code, or the like only after the information acquisitionunit 124 acquires the commodity information associated with the decodedinformation (for example, a commodity code provided by the decoding unit122) and the commodity registration process has been successfullyperformed by the commodity registration unit 125.

In addition, in the present embodiment, when the commodity detectionunit 123 detects that a commodity is in the scanner reading area and aRFID tag is read, the information acquisition unit 124 acquirescommodity information according to the information (e.g., a commoditycode) read from the RFID tag, and the commodity registration process canthus be successfully performed by the commodity registration unit 125,and the notification control unit 126 thus can control the speaker 6 tosound a notification sound for notifying that the commodity registrationprocess has been successful for the information stored in the RFID tag.

In addition, if the commodity information that would otherwise beacquired by the information acquisition unit 124 does not exist in thecommodity master 111, and the commodity registration unit 125 thus failsin the commodity registration process, the notification control unit 126causes the speaker 6 to emit an error notification sound.

In the present embodiment, the successful registration notificationsound indicating that the commodity registration process has succeededbased on the information encoded in a barcode, a two dimensional code,or the like, and the successful registration notification sound fornotifying that the commodity registration process has succeeded based onthe information stored in a RFID tag, and the error notification soundemitted when the commodity registration process has failed can each bedifferent, distinguishable sounds.

When the commodity registration unit 125 performs the commodityregistration process based on the information from an optically scannedcode symbol, the display control unit 127 controls the display unit todisplay that the commodity registration process has been performed basedon the information from the scanned code symbol. Similarly, when thecommodity registration unit 125 performs the commodity registrationprocess based on the information from a wireless tag reading, thedisplay control unit controls the display unit to display that thecommodity registration process has been performed based on theinformation from a wireless tag.

The display control unit 127 performs control to cause the monitor 3 todisplay an indication that the commodity registration process has failedif registration cannot be performed based on information read from aRFID tag or decoded by the decode unit 122.

The display control unit 127 performs control to cause the monitor 3 toindicate that the commodity registration process has been performedbased on the information stored in the RFID tag when the informationacquisition unit 124 acquires the information read from the RFID tag andthe commodity registration process has been successfully performed bythe commodity registration unit 125.

The selection unit 128 selects the notification sound.

In the present embodiment, the selection unit 128 selects, from thenotification sounds stored in the notification sound file 112. The soundfile 112 includes a notification sound for notifying that the commodityregistration process has succeeded based on the information held in thebarcode, the two-dimensional code, or the like, a notification sound fornotifying that the commodity registration process has succeeded based onthe information held in the RFID tag, or an error sound in a case wherethe commodity registration process has failed. Other sounds may bestored in sound 112 as well.

Next, certain information stored in the storage unit 11 of the POSterminal 1 will be described. The storage unit 11 stores the commoditymaster 111 and the notification sound file 112.

The commodity master 111 is a file that stores commodity information ofeach commodity sold in the store. In the present embodiment, thecommodity information includes a commodity code in association with acommodity name, a price, and the like for a particular commodity. Inaddition, since the commodities handled in the store may change eachday, the commodity master 111 can be updated by information transmittedfrom a server device or the like connected to the POS terminal 1. Insome examples, the commodity master 11 may be stored in a storage unitsuch as a server device rather than locally in the storage unit 11 ofthe POS terminal 1.

The notification sound file 112 is a file storing notification sounds tobe emitted from the speaker 6.

As described above, the notification sounds in the present embodimentinclude a notification sound indicating that the commodity registrationprocess has succeeded based on the information held in a barcode, atwo-dimensional code, or the like; a notification sound indicating thatthe commodity registration process has succeeded based on theinformation stored in the RFID tag; and an error sound indicating whenthe commodity registration process has failed. In some examples, thenotification sound file 112 may be stored in a storage unit of a serverdevice or the like rather than locally.

(Processing of POS Terminal)

Next, processing of the POS terminal 1 according to an embodiment willbe described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example ofprocessing of a POS terminal 1.

In response to a transaction start instruction from a user, the RFIDreader 7 causes the antenna 8 to emit radio waves for reading RFID tags(Step S101).

At the same time, the image acquisition unit 121 also starts acquiringimages being captured by the scanner 5 and attempts to read a barcode, atwo-dimensional code, or the like in an acquired image (Step S102).

The information acquisition unit 124 checks whether the RFID reader 7reads an RFID tag (Step S103). In a case where the RFID reader 7 readsinformation stored in the RFID tag (Step S103; Yes), the informationacquisition unit 124 next confirms whether or not the commoditydetection unit 123 also detects that a commodity is in the reading areaof the scanner 5 using an image acquired by the image acquisition unit121 (Step S104).

If a commodity is not in the reading area of the scanner 5 (Step S104No), Step S104 is repeated until the commodity detection unit 123detects a commodity is in the reading area of the scanner 5.

When a commodity is in the reading area of the scanner 5 (Step S104;Yes), the information acquisition unit 124 acquires the commodity codeinformation stored in the RFID tag as read by the RFID reader 7 (StepS106). The commodity registration unit 125 utilizes the commodity codeinformation acquired by the information acquisition unit 124 to checkwhether or not the commodity code information acquired by theinformation acquisition unit 124 matches a commodity code in thecommodity master 111 (Step S108).

In a case where the acquired commodity code is not in the commoditymaster 111 (Step S108; No), the notification control unit 126 causes thespeaker 6 to sound a notification sound for indicating that thecommodity registration process has failed (Step S113).

The control unit 10 then checks whether an instruction to end thecommodity registration process has been received (Step S115). When theinstruction to end the commodity registration process has not beenreceived (Step S115; No), Steps S101 to Step S115 can be repeated untilthe instruction to end the commodity registration process is received.

When the instruction to end the commodity registration process has beenreceived (Step S115; Yes), the display control unit 127 performs controlto cause the monitor 3 to display that a checkout process (also referredto as an accounting process or a transaction settlement process) hasstarted (Step S116), and then ends the present commodity registrationprocessing.

When the matching commodity information is in the commodity master 111in Step S108 (Step S108; Yes), the commodity registration unit 125performs the commodity registration process based on the informationstored in the RFID tag as read by the RFID reader 7 (Step S110).

The notification control unit 126 performs control to cause the speaker6 to emit a notification sound indicating that the commodityregistration process has been successful using information stored in aRFID tag (Step S112). In addition, the display control unit 127 alsocontrols the monitor 3 to display that the commodity registrationprocess has been performed based on the information stored in a RFIDtag.

Thereafter, the processes of Step S115 to Step S116 are performed, andthe present process ends.

On the other hand, when the RFID reader 7 has not read informationstored in a RFID tag in Step S103 (Step S103; No), the informationacquisition unit 124 checks whether or not the decoding unit 122 hassucceeded in the decoding process (Step S105). When the decoding processis not successful (Step S105; No), the process returns to Step S101 torepeat processing.

When the decoding process is successful (Step S105; Yes), theinformation acquisition unit 124 then attempts to acquire the commodityinformation associated with the barcode or a two-dimensional code thatwas read by the scanner 5 (Step S107). The commodity registration unit125 checks whether or not the commodity information associated with thebarcode or two-dimensional code is in the commodity master 111 (StepS109).

When the corresponding commodity information is not in the commoditymaster 111 (Step S109; No), the notification control unit 126 controlsthe speaker 6 to emit a notification sound for notifying that thecommodity registration process of the particular item has failed (StepS113). Thereafter, the processes of Step S115 to Step S116 areperformed, and the present process ends.

On the other hand, when the commodity information corresponding to thebarcode or the like read by the optical scanning unit is in thecommodity master 111 in Step S109 (Step S109; Yes), the commodityregistration unit 125 performs the commodity registration process basedon the commodity information associated with the barcode or the like(Step S111).

The notification control unit 126 performs control to cause the speaker6 to emit a notification sound indicating that the commodityregistration process has been successful using information acquired froma barcode or two-dimensional code or the like as read by the scanner 5(Step S114). In addition, the display control unit 127 also performscontrol to cause the monitor 3 to display information indicating thatthe commodity registration process has been performed, based on thebarcode or the like read by the scanner 5.

Thereafter, the processes of Step S115 to Step S116 are performed, andthe present process ends.

(Effects of POS terminal)

Next, certain possibly advantageous effects of a POS terminal 1according to an embodiment will be described.

The POS terminal 1 according to the present embodiment includes acommodity detection unit 123 that detects when a commodity is within acommodity reading area in which the scanner 5 can read a barcode, atwo-dimensional code, or the like. The POS terminal 1 also incorporatesa notification control unit 126 that controls the speaker 6 to emit anotification sound when the commodity detection unit 123 detects that acommodity is in the commodity reading area when the RFID reader 7 readsan RFID tag attached to the commodity.

When the RFID reader 7 reads a commodity to which an RFID tag isattached, the notification control unit 126 performs control to causethe speaker 6 to sound a notification sound to perform notification onlywhen the commodity enters the commodity reading area in which thescanner 5 can read a barcode, a two-dimensional code, or the like.

Therefore, even when the RFID reader 7 reads a commodity to which onlyan RFID tag is attached (that is no barcode or the like is on thecommodity), the registration notification sound will not be generateduntil the commodity detection unit 123 detects that the commodity hasbeen placed (or held) in the commodity reading area. Therefore, the usercan perform the commodity registration process with substantially thesame operating feel as when the scanner 5 is utilized to read acommodity with a barcode, the two-dimensional code, or the like isattached.

In addition, the POS terminal 1 according to the present embodimentincludes a commodity registration unit 125 that registers commodityinformation and a monitor 3 that displays information. The commodityregistration unit 125 is able to perform a commodity registrationprocess based on information acquired from a barcode or atwo-dimensional code attached to a commodity and read by the scanner 5and also information acquired from an RFID tag attached to a commodityand read by the RFID reader 7.

The monitor 3 displays information indicating whether the commodityregistration process has been performed based on the information read bythe scanner 5 or based on the information read by the RFID reader 7.

Accordingly, when the commodity registration process is performed on acommodity having both a barcode label (or the like) and an RFID tag, theuser can recognize which information was used for the registration.

In addition, the POS terminal 1 according to the present embodimentincludes a selection unit 128 that selects the notification sound to beemitted to the user. Such a selection can be based on user preference orthe like.

For example, the selection unit 128 can respectively select, based onthe user's selection, a notification sound for notifying that thecommodity registration process has succeeded based on information heldin a barcode or a two-dimensional code, a notification sound fornotifying that the commodity registration process has succeeded based oninformation stored in an RFID tag, or an error sound when the commodityregistration process has failed.

When the selection unit 128 different sounds are used for the possiblenotifications, the user can distinguish been different situations suchas “successful reading of only a barcode, a two-dimensional code, or thelike”, “successful reading of only an RFID tag”, and “failure in thecommodity registration process” based on the differences in thenotification sounds.

In addition, since the selection unit 128 can select between variousdifferent notification sounds (that is, the notification sound file 112can be customized and/or the selection unit can be configured to selectfrom amongst various possible choices provided in the notification soundfile 112), the store in which the POS terminal 1 is located can selectthe notification sound(s) matching an intended atmosphere of the storeor the like. Furthermore, if the selection unit 128 is configured to beable to select the notification sound based on the selection by acustomer, for example, it is possible to allow a child to enjoy the timeduring the commodity registration process by selecting a singing voiceof an animal or character preferred by the child as the notificationsound.

The POS terminal 1 includes a scanner 5, an RFID reader 7, and anantenna 8 proximate to the reading window 51. Since generally the userholds each commodity in front of the reading window 51, the distancebetween the antenna 8 and the RFID tag on a commodity is reduced by thisconfiguration, and an effect of increasing the reading success rate ofthe RFID tags can be expected.

For example, when an RFID tag is attached to a metal commodity or thelike, a reflected wave from a metal surface sometimes interferes with aresponse wave from the RFID tag, and thus it can be difficult for theRFID reader 7 to read the RFID tag on such items in some instances.However, if the RFID tag will be brought close to the antenna 8 duringthe registration processing, is then, generally, the possibility ofsuccessful RFID tag reading increases with reduced distance.

In some examples, a program executed by the POS terminal 1 can beprovided by being incorporated in a non-transitory, computer readablestorage medium (such as ROM 102 or the storage unit 11) included in thePOS terminal 1 in advance. Likewise, the program executed by the POSterminal 1 may be stored in a computer connected to a network such asthe Internet and provided to the POS terminal 1 by being downloaded viathe network.

Similarly, such a program can be provided by being transmitted,distributed, downloaded, and/or accessed via a LAN, the Internet, or thelike.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A commodity registration device, comprising: anoptical reading unit having a reading range and configured to read acode symbol on a commodity in the reading range; a wireless tag readingunit configured to read a commodity code from a wireless tag of thecommodity in the reading range of the optical reading unit; and aprocessor configured to: detect whether the commodity is in the readingrange of the optical reading unit, and cause a notification unit toindicate the commodity has been registered by the wireless tag readingunit only when both the wireless tag reading unit successfully reads thecommodity code from the wireless tag and the commodity is presentlydetected as being in the reading range of the optical reading unit. 2.The commodity registration device according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor is further configured to: acquire commodity information from acommodity master list based on a decoding of the code symbol read by theoptical reading unit, and acquire commodity information from thecommodity master list based on the commodity code read from the wirelesstag by the wireless tag reading unit.
 3. The commodity registrationdevice according to claim 2, further comprising: a storage unit storingthe commodity master list.
 4. The commodity registration deviceaccording to claim 2, wherein the processor is further configured to:register the commodity in a sales transaction according to the commodityinformation acquired from the commodity master list.
 5. The commodityregistration device according to claim 1, further comprising: a displayscreen, wherein the processor is further configured to: cause thedisplay screen to indicate the commodity has been registered by thewireless tag reading unit only if both the wireless tag reading unitsuccessfully reads the commodity code from the wireless tag and thecommodity is detected as being in the reading range of the opticalreading unit at the same time.
 6. The commodity registration deviceaccording to claim 5, wherein the notification unit is a speakerconfigured to emit sound.
 7. The commodity registration device accordingto claim 1, wherein the notification unit is a speaker configure to emitsound.
 8. The commodity registration device according to claim 1,wherein the processor is further configured to cause the notificationunit to indicate the commodity has been successfully registered by theoptical reading unit but only if the code symbol is read by opticalreading unit and the wireless tag reading unit does not read thecommodity code from the wireless tag.
 9. The commodity registrationdevice according to claim 8, wherein the notification unit is a speaker,and the processor is further configured to cause the notification unitto emit a first sound to indicate the wireless tag reading unitsuccessfully reads the commodity code from the wireless tag and a secondsound to indicate the commodity has been registered by optical readingunit.
 10. The commodity registration device according to claim 1,wherein the notification unit is a speaker configured to emit sound, andthe processor is further configured to receive a user selection of anotification sound to be emitted by the speaker.
 11. The commodityregistration device according to claim 1, further comprising: a mainbody configured to be mounted on a checkout counter and having a readingwindow, wherein the optical reading unit is inside the main body andpositioned to read through the reading window, and an antenna of thewireless tag reading unit is inside the main body and adjacent to thereading window.
 12. A point-of-sale terminal, comprising: a main bodyconfigured to be mounted on a checkout counter and having a readingwindow; an optical reading unit inside the main body and configured toread, through the reading window, a code symbol on a commodity within areading range; a wireless tag reading unit having an antenna inside themain body and adjacent to the reading window, the wireless tag readingunit configured to read a commodity code from a wireless tag of thecommodity in the reading range of the optical reading unit; a speakerconfigured to output sounds; a display screen on an upper end of themain body; and a processor configured to: detect whether the commodityis in the reading range of the optical reading unit, cause the speakerto emit a first sound to indicate the commodity has been registered onlywhen the wireless tag reading unit successfully reads the commodity codefrom the wireless tag while the commodity is presently detected as beingin the reading range of the optical reading unit, and cause the displayscreen to indicate the commodity has been registered if the wireless tagreading unit successfully reads the commodity code from the wireless tagwhile the commodity is presently detected as being in the reading rangeof the optical reading unit.
 13. The point-of-sale terminal according toclaim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: acquirecommodity information from a commodity master list based on a decodingof the code symbol read by the optical reading unit, and acquirecommodity information from the commodity master list based on thecommodity code read from the wireless tag by the wireless tag readingunit.
 14. The point-of-sale terminal according to claim 13, furthercomprising: a storage unit storing the commodity master list.
 15. Thepoint-of-sale terminal according to claim 13, wherein the processor isfurther configured to: register the commodity in a sales transactionaccording to the commodity information acquired from the commoditymaster list.
 16. The point-of-sale terminal according to claim 12,wherein the processor is further configured to cause the speaker to emita second sound to indicate the commodity has been successfullyregistered by the optical reading unit but only if the code symbol isread by optical reading unit and the wireless tag reading unit does notread the commodity code from the wireless tag.
 17. The point-of-saleterminal according to claim 12, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to receive a user selection of the first sound.
 18. Thepoint-of-sale terminal according to claim 12, wherein the processor isfurther configured to detect whether the commodity is in the readingrange of the optical reading unit based on an image acquired by theoptical reading unit.
 19. A non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium storing a program for causing a processor of a commodityregistration device to perform a method comprising: detecting whether acommodity is in a reading range of an optical reading unit; and causinga speaker to emit a first sound to indicate the commodity has beenregistered by a wireless tag reading unit only when both the wirelesstag reading unit successfully reads a commodity code from a wireless tagand the commodity is presently detected as being in the reading range ofthe optical reading unit.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium according to claim 19, the method further comprising:causing a display screen to indicate the commodity has been registeredby the wireless tag reading unit only if both the wireless tag readingunit successfully reads the commodity code from the wireless tag and thecommodity is detected as being in the reading range of the opticalreading unit at the same time.